Self-disclosure (attraction)

What is self-disclosure?

When a person voluntarily reveals private/intimate information about themself to another person.

This is done at different extents.

What does greater disclosure lead to?

Greater feelings of intimacy.

This makes it an important process in the development of romantic relationships.

What people do people prefer, in terms of self-disclosure?

People that disclose more intimate details, as it implies a sense of trust.

People reveal imtimate information to those they like.

KEY STUDY: What was the aim of Sprecher’s 2013 study?

To see whether reciprocal (both ways) self-disclosure was more influential in determining attraction than one-sided self disclosure and listening.

What was the procedure of the study?

156 US university students were paired up. 2/3 of the pairs were female-female, 1/3 was male-female.

The pairs engaged in a self-disclosure task over Skype involving two conditions.

In the reciprocal condition - the partners took turns asking questions and disclosing (like a real-life conversation).

In the non-reciprocal condition (with different partner) - one person asked questions while the other person disclosed. These roles were then switched.

After each interaction, the researchers assessed liking, closeness, perceived similarity and enjoyment of the interaction for participants.

What were the findings of the study?

Individuals in the reciprocal conditions reported more liking, closeness, perceived similarity and interaction enjoyment than individuals in the non-reciprocal pairs.

What was the conclusion of the study?

Turn-taking self-disclosure reciprocity is more likely to lead to positive interpersonal outcomes than extended reciprocity.

What did other research from Sprecher find about self-disclosure in relationships?

He found that self-disclosure was positively related to relationship stability.

In a study of 50 dating couples, Sprecher found that the amount of overall disclosure in the relationship was predictive of whether the couples stayed together for longer than four years.

Why is the relationship between self-disclosure and relationship satisfaction not straightforward?

Because there are many different types of self-disclosure.

Eg there’s a big difference between disclosing one’s music taste and disclosing one’s inner fears and fantasies.

Researchers have found that it’s the type of self-disclosure that predicts relationship satisfaction.

What did Sprecher (1987) find relating to this topic?

He found that the disclosure of - for example - experiences of personal disappointments and information about previous sexual relationships have a greater influence on relationship satisfaction than more ‘neutral’ types of self-disclosure.

What are the norms of self-disclosure?

One is that people should engage in only a moderately personal level of self-disclosure in the early stages of a relationship (eg on the first date).

(Another is reciprocity)

Why is this?

Self-disclosing very personal things early on in a relationship (eg on the first date) will make the discloser seem indiscriminate - done without careful judgement and strange.

But the disclosure should be personal enough so that the listener is able to know the discloser better after the interaction as a result.

Why do we have the norm of reciprocity in self-disclosure?

This is taking turns to disclose similar levels of self-disclosure to one another.

The more one person discloses, the more disclosure is expected in return.

We have this norm as people expect, others to return the services they provide (like when paying for something with money).